Originally Posted by CanaryWharf

St. Regis Doha

Pre-Arrival: Email received from Butler Desk about special requests / preferences. All requests were fulfilled.

MB Recognition (Ambassador): Booked a Deluxe Room and they initially tried to give me that same room category with a sea view, which is not a proper upgrade. Knowing that the occupancy of the hotel was sub-30%, I challenged them in a polite way. Was told all suites were sold out but they could upgrade me to an Astor room (slightly larger version of the Deluxe Room). Room was located on 2nd floor (lowest) and had loud bass music playing from the bar/restaurants below. I knew it would be an issue throughout my stay, so I called and complained, and voila, somehow a John Astor suite became available within 10 minutes. Don’t expect much recognition as MB member (even as Ambassador) and beware the upgrade you might get if you challenge them. Early check-in / late check-out not needed this time.

Welcome amenity: Arabic sweets, fruit basket, 10 bottles of water

Location: Good, near the major attractions, plenty of restaurants/bars in the neighbouring area

Vibe: Busy and loud with plenty of popular restaurants within/near the hotel.

Room/Suite: Both the Astor Room and John Astor Suite looked pretty average. Furniture was of poor quality and made the rooms/suites look cheap.

Breakfast: Decent variety of food, although the quality was average.

Dining: Awful in my experience. Tried Bebabel (Lebanese) and it was just horrible, I returned both starters and the main course. Astor Grill (Steakhouse) another waste of time/money - ordered a medium-rare steak and got a well-done one. They also messed up the side dish order. I was scared to try the other restaurants after those two. Lobby Lounge was OK.

SPA: The only good thing in this hotel. Treatments were outstanding and the SPA facilities are good.

Pool/Beach: They have a massive Olympic pool and private beach. The hotel was not busy but they had a lot of sunbeds, so getting one should not be a problem even during busy times. Nothing to complain about.

Service: Service was mediocre. It varied from slow/inefficient service to unfriendly staff. There were 2-3 exceptions, but overall, I didn’t feel like I am staying in a luxury hotel. In fact, I had better service in some Westins or Sheratons.

Overall Rating: 4/10